KEY POINTS:
Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes as Beijing readies for the Olympics, but one couple is refusing to give way.
Just at the inner side of Beijing's north fifth ring road near the Olympic Park stands a house, alone among the ruins of other
homes.
Sun Yongliang, 36, and his wife Chen Zengxia, 34, refuse to move. They are now the last ones still standing.
The August Games have brought spectacular venues such as the main Olympic arena, the Birdsnest, the National Aquatics Centre and 25 more five-star hotels and numerous skyscrapers to the city.
Highways have been constructed, light trains built, parks are being repaired and buildings given upgrades. Never before has the city's construction been carried out at such a fast pace and on such a large scale. Most Beijingers have delighted in the change but not Sun and Chen.
"It's a disaster for us," says Sun, pointing to their house, likely soon to be a pile of bricks and stones.
There used to be over 1000 families living in Yangshan village.
In April 2005, the Government began forcing the villagers out. Residents received compensation and were told that an entertainment park would be be built there.
However, a few families decided to resist. One by one and under the pressure from the local police and government they left their houses.
Only Sun and his family remains. Their last neighbour moved a week ago.
"We were offered 4300 yuan [$790] per sq m, but take a look at the building just across the road, same location, the price there is over 16,000 yuan [$2930] per sq m."
Sun gives a bitter smile and continues: "It's not like we want to make money over the issue. It's just we have seven people in our family. With the compensation the Government offered, we simply can't buy an apartment large enough for us all. We are just asking for an equal trade."
A government letter sent on March 17 tells Sun, Chen and their family to move out within three days upon receiving the notice, or else the Government has every right to remove them by force.
There is a big excavator just a few hundred metres away outside Sun and Chen's house. "We moved our parents and my 6-year-old boy away right after we received the notice. We rented a temporary apartment far away from here. Continuing to live here could be dangerous."
Government statistics say that 6037 households have been forced to move because of the Olympic Games, but according to the Geneva-based Housing Rights and Evictions Centre, the number is closer to 1.5 million people.
Sun and Chen are probably the last ones still fighting.
"We are ready to stay and continue this fight against the unfair treatment of the Government at the cost of our blood and life," Sun says.
